HK AVR 320-Z vs. HK AVR 325

Can anyone educate me on the differences between these two recievers? I can get the 320-Z for a substantially lower price off the HK website (of course it is refurbished). I am looking for a good reciever in the 400 range. I am 50/50 movies and music. I am currently building the audio end of my system and within the next month plan on a reciever (probably an HK unless someone talks me out of it).
Thanks in advance for your help.
-Matt

Go to www.shopping.yahoo.com and go to the electronics section, and do a comparison on the AVR 320 pricing. You'll notice that you can get the 320 BRAND NEW at places like JandR for what Harman is selling refurbs for. Mine just came in the mail today, and my question is, if you don't yet have surround sound, or front speakers to tide you over, what the hell good is a receiver? BTW, JandR did a great double boxing job(didn't even ask them) and it came spotless, built in OCT 02.

325 has DolbyDigital EX and 7 channel amplifier, fan, Abus, silver color scheme vs gold on the 320, 50mhz component vs 35mhz on the 320. The front LED display on the 320 is a little more extensive, and the 320 has assignable front digital coax, either input or output. Not much else is different. I have the 320, it's a great unit. Never once has it hiccupped on any material. If you want 6.1 or logic7 7.1, the 325 would be the way to go.

oh, and the 325 has triple x-over for front l/r, center and rears, which is nice too

Micheal,
To answer your question...I currently have "Surround Sound" and plenty of speakers...although I am also adding Paradigm Monitor 5's, titans, and an SVS in the next month as well...so a good reciever will do me plenty of good.
Thank you to both of your replys...This will be a tough choice. It is always difficult to determine the features that I will actually utilize vs. price I want to spend.

Hey Matt,
I just recently setup my system using B&W 600 series and the AVR 320 from H&K. Got the reciever from JandR for $399.88 delivered to my door. Unit is brand new manufactured in Sept of '02. I would say that unless you really need the 6/7.1 or amplified dual source capabilities go with the 320. I have been completely floored with the capabilities of the 320. Oodles of power, clean clean clean, and very easy to setup. That and I dont think the remote is as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Unless you are going hardcore I would say that 320 is going to be quite enough for ya. I know it is for me.

Matt,
Actually the "what good is a receiver" question was my own directed to you! I just got the 320, but don't have any surround speakers, so I was wondering, as I was tinkering with it, "jesus, what good is this thing if I don't have any surround speakers for it to manage!" Sorry for the confusion.

I picked up the 320 several months ago from JandR for 390 + shipping. I think it is a great unit for that price. I mainly listen to 2-channel music and found the 320 to be adquate. It's my first surround sound set-up so I really can't compare its surround abilities with other similar units except to say that I am pleased with the performance. Now that I have my 2-channel integrated amp back from the shop (original Sony ES series model), I will use it for the 2 front channels.

Matt, if you think you may use the two additional amps in the 325 and/or any of the other additional features, I have read on some boards that the 325 can be had for about 500 (costco maybe?). It would be 100 more than the 320 but maybe worth it in the end.

It may be of interest to some to know that I am in the process of having HK replace my 320 with a 325. I read in AVS forum that when in 7.1 mode and using Logic 7 some 320's and 520's have a processing problem in which the SBR pre-out on the 320/520 delivers little if any output. Other modes work fine, but with Logic 7 there is basically no output to the channel. I tested my unit once I got my int. amp back and sure enough it had the problem. Called HK and they said their solution to the problem was to replace the 320 with a 325. I agreed and shipped my unit out a couple of days ago. New unit should arrive in the next two weeks.

The other thing you may want to consider is bass management. The 325 has H/K's new triple x-over system which can set independent x-over settings for individual channels. Since you have Monitor 5s and Titans in your set-up, you might want to consider this, as you can get the lower frequencies directed more accurately to your SVS. This bass management also applies to the multi-channel analog input for DVD-A/SACD--a feature that I think may be a first among receivers in the sub-$1000 range. Of course, the downside is that if you want to do bass management for the multi-channel inputs, the signal will have to be digitized, processed, and converted back into an analog signal--additional steps that will definitely affect the sound (although how audible the degradation will be depends on how sensitive a listener you are). I have a 320 now, but if I was shopping today, I think I'd go with a 325 for the bass management features alone. Good luck!

I set the receiver to 6.1/7.1 surround sound for the input I choose for the test, CD in my case.

Then all you need to do is connect the SBR and SBL pre-out from the 320/520 to an external amplifier's RCA inputs. The external amp should be connected to a set of speakers, for which you could use one of your existing pairs if you only have a 5.1 surround set-up. While your source material is playing put the 320/520 into Logic 7 mode (music) and you should have sound coming from both speakers. In my case there was no sound from the speaker being fed by the SBR pre-out until I turned the volume on the HK and my amp way up and still the volume from that speaker was substantially muted. The SRL fed speaker seemed to be fine as were the others

If you do not have an additional amplifier, do a search on AVS forum in the receiver/amplifier section for HK 520 and/or 320. I think the actual thread mentioned Logic 7 in the title. Someone in the thread posted a way to check the problem by using the amps on the receiver and rerouting to power the SBR and SBL speakers.

The problem seems to be solely with Logic 7 since 7 channel stereo did not present any problems. I currently have a 5.1 set up but I may use my paradigm mini monitors as SBR and SBL speakers in the near future if I don't sell them first.

I get sound out of my AVR320. In Logic7 7.1, SBR and SBL are surround speakers, you can't expect them to have a full frequency stereo signal being fed to it, just like in 5.1 the surrounds only get certain information. Logic7 works in much the same way. or Am I missing something? Is the problem NO SOUND at all coming thru the SBR+SBL pre-outs?

...Matt, if you think you may use the two additional amps in the 325 and/or any of the other additional features, I have read on some boards that the 325 can be had for about 500 (costco maybe?). It would be 100 more than the 320 but maybe worth it in the end. ...

Yes, the 325 is $499.99 at Costco. Costco is not an authorized reseller, but their return policy is second to none.

I just bought a 320 from JandR for a friend payed 384.00 for it. I have done a lot of buisness over the past10+ years with JandR they dont always have the best price but they are reputable and like it or not at some point you are going to buy something that you have to return, No complaints, as a matter of fact they have got better over the years.
Harmon did have a refurb 500 (old style look) for 299 5.1 DD and 5.1 DTS, big amps, almost bought it. 900 new, personaly I like its looks better than the "Plastic Top" they have now, scratches too easy. . .

The short answer is not no sound, but instead an inadvertantly muted sound for SBR relative to SBL due to a problem with the Logic 7 processing in 7.1 mode.

I agree that the surround speakers (outputs) will not be sent a full range signal at all times. In this particular case there is an easy internal check: the SBR and SBL speakers should at least be at similar volume levels. In my case that was not true. At moderate volume settings there was only a faint amount of sound coming from the speaker. At higher levels the sound increased somewhat, but would go in and out (on and off). In addition, the sound from the SBR fed speaker was substantially lower than that from the SBL fed speaker. Both the SL and SR speakers were at the same volume relative to one another and the center channel was similar. It was very clear when I did the test that there was a problem with the SBR output. I described how I performed the test and my findings to the HK rep. The ease with which HK accepted my unit for return reassures me that the problem is real.

Mike, what is the mfr date on your HK-320? I'm gonna test mine in the next couple of days for this problem. I only use 5.1 but I do have an extra amp to test this 7.1 logic 7 issue. Better to know now instead of down the road when I really need the 7.1.

I have already returned my unit, but I think the manufactured date on the unit was July or August 2002. I remember that the date was just a couple of months before I purchased the unit, which was in October.